Discovery of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Entomofauna from the Mashiping Basin, western Henan and its stratigraphic implications
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Abstract:
The Jehol Biota is the best preserved Cretaceous terrestrial biota and one of the most important and exceptionally well-preserved lagerst?tten worldwide. According to the three-stage evolutionary theory of the Jehol Biota, this biota extended southward to the Qinling and Dabie mountains, including the western and southern regions of Henan Province, during the second stage. Earlier studies have documented Ephemeropsis trisetalis, a typical element of the Jehol Biota, from western Henan. In this paper, the larva fossils of Aeschnidiidae and Ephemeropsis trisetalis are first reported from the Nanzhao Formation in the Mashiping Basin, Nanzhao Country, western Henan Province. Aeschnidiid larvae were previously only recorded in the Yixian Formation and its equivalent strata. Aeschnidiid larvae belong to the characteristic element of the second stage of the Jehol Biota. The newly discovered insect fossils from western Henan confirm that the Jehol Biota had already reached this area during the second stage. This study further indicates that the age of the Nanzhao Formation is Early Cretaceous instead of Late Jurassic, and the Nanzhao Formation may be somewhat correlatable with the Yixian Formation in western Liaoning.
